He frowns. "What’s this?"
"I know you only married me to avoid whatever punitive punishment this council might effect. I release you from that vow. Thank you for saving my life. You owe me nothing further."
I can’t read his face as he stares at the ring, but I just need him to take it. I will never be able to move on from him, but I must try. I certainly won’t hold him to a vow he made to save me, just because my ridiculous emotions are making a hormonal teenager of me.
"Ember, this isn’t—"
A blaring sound fills the room, and Sly appears behind us as if from air. "We have something of a situation," he says.
"What’s happened?" Sebastian asks, turning away from me. I slip the ring back on for the moment and face Sly.
"Molly is dead."
It’s a gruesome sight, what’s left of Molly Lambert. Her hair is torn out by the roots and left in clumps around her cell. Her eyes have been plucked out and left to rot by the pissing pot. Her skin has been scratched and bitten until there’s almost nothing left identifying her as human. But none of that killed her. No, it’s her torn out throat that did the deed.
I squat over her remains as something niggles my brain. I’ve read enough cozy mysteries to dissect a crime scene in my sleep. I point to her hands. "She did this to herself," I say in a low voice.
Sly leans over to look at what I’m pointing to.
"Notice her nails? She tore out her hair, plucked out her eyes and scratched up her skin. Even pulled out her throat."
"That would make more sense than someone else being able to kill her here," Sly says. "I would know if anyone attempted to harm someone under my care."
"Why would she do this?" Sebastian asks.
Sly shrugs. "Madness inspires mad acts. But worry not, you’re safe here."
Except I’m not just worried about my safety anymore. "Maybe Molly was always insane, and I’m just now seeing it, but I can’t help but blame these brothers. How many women have they killed?" I ask as my mind inadvertently flashes to that night.
To the teeth.
The bites.
The pain.
"They’ve been around a while," Sebastian says. "So . . . a lot. In the thousands, likely. Or more."
My stomach drops. Thousands? Or more? They aren’t serial killers. They are mass murders. They are insane. "The women on the news recently? The ones missing?"
"Not missing, I’m afraid," says Sly. "We’ve had our Council of Hunters searching for them, but this is the first lead we’ve had. They’re good at covering their tracks."
"And he wants me dead because he blames me for his brother dying?" I ask.
Sebastian nods. "That’s my fault. He should be coming after me, not you."
Sly smirks. "Rest assured, dear boy, he’s coming for you too. She’s just easier prey."
An idea that’s been knocking around in my brain finally lands. "Then let him find me."
Sebastian frowns. Sly looks intrigued.
"Use me as bait. If he wants me so badly, then use that to catch him."
"No way," Sebastian says. "Not going to happen. He’s unpredictable. Capable of anything."
"Exactly. He’s unpredictable and likely to make mistakes. If you’ve been looking for him as long as you say you have, this should be a no-brainer. Surely with all the hunters you talk about, you could keep me safe."
Sly’s eyes shift to Sebastian, and the vampire frowns. "No. The hunters are fallible. People in their care get hurt. People who trust them. I won’t let you die for this."
And then it all clicks into place. "You were one, weren’t you? A hunter?"
Sebastian nods.
"And someone under your care was hurt? Died?"
He looks away.
I reach for his hand. "I’m not them. And I get to make my own decisions. You said so yourself. I always have a choice. And this is what I’m choosing. You have to trust me."
We lock eyes, and I can see he’s still going to fight me on this, so I push harder.
"I’ll do it without you if I have to." It’s a hard thing for me to say, but it’s still true. And part of me hopes he’ll walk away and let me risk this alone. So he’s safe. So my heart can break free of his. The more time we spend together, the deeper I fall into something that won't ever be, and the weight of that knowledge is threatening to break me.
"Stubborn woman," he mutters.
I just smile. "Does that mean you’re in?"
"It means I’m not letting you do this alone."
Sly claps his hands together and grins. "Excellent. I do love a good bait and trap. Let us head to the drawing room to prepare, shall we?"
I’m anxious to leave the corpse of my best friend and breathe some fresh air, so I follow quickly and I don’t look back. There’s a part of my heart that’s mourning for the person I thought she was. For the memories we shared. The time we had together. The friendship I will miss. But then I remember the things she said and did. I remember her smearing my blood on her body and laughing as I died, and bile rises in my throat.
It’s a strange thing to finally see the truth of someone and to then have every memory re-colored by this new reality. It’s disjointing. But I don’t have time to play with the past. First, I must stop a killer.
The plan we settle on is pretty straightforward. Sebastian will take me home and I will wait for Steven to come and try to kill me. Hunters will be stationed around my house and ready to pounce once he arrives, and we will all live happily ever after. Well, except Steven.
Sebastian looks perpetually worried.
I’m actually pretty okay with this plan. At least right now. I’m sure the crazy of it all will settle in eventually. I had toyed with the idea of going back to work, following my normal routine, etc., but I don’t want to put my colleagues at risk. Presumably, they aren’t all psychopaths bent on mayhem and murder. I’m pretty sure only Molly holds that distinction.
Since Sebastian hasn’t been to my house, he can’t use a mirror, but apparently, I can now that I no longer have a reflection.
"You’re officially a vampire," he says. "How do you feel?"
I shrug. "Stronger. More attuned to my senses. But still mostly like me, just a powered-up version of my former self. I don’t dislike it."
He nods. "There are some things you’ll have to get used to."
"Right. Like finding blood sources. Can I use animals?" I’m not a vegetarian, so what’s the harm in drinking my dinner rather than grilling it?
"You can, but you won’t like it much. There are clubs that humans attend in order to offer themselves as blood donors. We can find one for you if you’re interested. Especially in Vegas. There are a lot of vampires living there."
"Really? How interesting. And the sun? I assume that’s a no-no?" It’s an odd time to be asking questions, but I expect that he and I will part ways when this is over, so I need to learn all I can now.
"On this world, yes, the sun is harmful to you and can kill you with too much exposure. There is a world you can go to that would allow you to live in the sun, if you are ever interested. I think you’d like it."
That peaks my curiosity. "I think I would like to at least visit and see. I have nothing much holding me here other than my job. Does this world have books?" This is a serious question, obviously.
He chuckles. "Yes, and they are full of fantastical stories and ancient knowledge that would take you lifetimes to read."
My heart flutters at the thought. "Then it’s a good thing I now have lifetimes!"
His smile is full of warmth as he takes my hand and instructs me to imagine the mirror I want to transport to. I think of the mirror in my bathroom at home and touch the shimmering glass.
Just like before, we are wrapped in magic and darkness and sucked through a portal that shakes up my insides and sends me spiraling into the cosmos before depositing us on my bathroom floor.
As I pull myself to a standing position, I notice my floor needs a proper mopping and my shower drain has bits of hair trapped. Everything here looks so mundane after where I’ve been.